Kathy Castonguay

Development Volunteer / Vickie’s Angel Foundation

“…the grant (application) initiated some good dialogue in the office that played out over the last week. Focusing on core values is not something that typically happens in the bustle of a busy non-profit organization … thank you for the push to have that discussion! … The support of Achieving Results will help prevent evictions and foreclosures for those individuals fighting for their lives during active cancer treatment. … While I understand the importance of a strategic plan for an organization, the information presented at the event and in the book underscored how critical a current plan is for success. This was particularly helpful at this time of growth and change in our organization as we focus on long-term sustainability. … Personally, the emphasis on focusing efforts was most helpful. We identified a Development team following the June event and are focusing our energies on grant and community opportunities that will have the most impact on the families we serve.”

Yvette Lynch

Director of Development / Harrisburg Area YMCA

“The Communications and Marketing section of the book spoke to me the most as I’m always striving to inspire my volunteer fundraisers to share a story about the YMCA or why the YMCA means so much to them when they are solicitating donations for our Annual Campaign. I plan to use your suggested strategies in my campaigner training for the 2020 Annual Campaign.”

Josephine Downey

Office Manager / Hummelstown Area Historical Society

“The best take-away from the book … is on page 55 from the Communications and Marketing chapter. “Effective communicating about your organization will advance your mission. It’s how you get behind your cause by raising awareness, engaging volunteers, accessing donors, stimulating giving, and most importantly, connecting with those you serve.” This is an excellent summary of what we need to do … It all begins with proper communication about who we are and what our mission is … Through proper communication, we have the best chance of accomplishing our mission and vision.”

Michelle Giovagnoli

Director of Institutional and Academic Grants / King’s College

“We are grateful for your foresight and commitment in advancing the work and missions of non-profit organizations. … This book is an excellent resource, teaching me many useful lessons, as well as serving to remind me of areas I sometimes tend to forget (both personally and professionally). … [Lesson learned from the book]  Do not chase the money and compromise the Mission and Core Values of an organization in raising funds; have a reason (preferably with an emotional connection) to raise money with a strategic plan in place (including goals and objectives) and engage staff and volunteers to approach fundraising as an end result of doing many things well to “Achieve Results” and grow the organization. Fundraising is not the beginning from which all things follow.” 

Mike Catell

Assistant Vice President of Development / Media Research Center

“… an excellent resource for all in the not-for-profit enterprise. On a personal note, I can say with enormous confidence that I have benefited from Roz’s wealth of knowledge and teaching – from the first days of my career to this day – nearly 25 years later. I owe a debt of gratitude to Roz for being a selfless and wise mentor, coach and friend. … Achieving Results gave us many great takeaways. Overall, the book gave us an opportunity to step back from day-to-day goals and the tyranny of the urgent and reassess our department and the organization in light of the strategies outlined in the book. It also gave us a framework to get started addressing organizational weak points. Our first step is to improve our profile on charity watchdog sites by doing our best to bring the organization in line with standards they set forth. The book also made it clear that what we were calling our mission statement was really our vision statement, so we drafted a new mission statement … Going forward, we’ll be working to impress others in the organization the necessity of complying with these standards and insisting upon how a positive culture can help drive success.” 

Alison Adams

Grant Writer / A Woman’s Concern

“I believe this book would serve our nonprofit well to use as a helpful tool every 2-3 years or so to evaluate every aspect of the organization and make sure we are on track in each area of nonprofit management and goal setting. … My favorite thing about the book was the “workbook” style that allows the reader to immediately evaluate and apply the information given in the chapter.  It didn’t leave me overwhelmed at the end of the book, because along the way, I was able to stop and journal through certain areas, like the “Ask/Give” section and others. … I also really liked the chapter “Staff and Volunteer Development” because there were several good ideas about bringing staff, board, and volunteers together in different ways as well as new (to me) ways of engaging and supporting volunteers.”